Email Profiling for Customer Quality Assessment

Published on: 2024-08-10 18:48:28

Email profiling is a powerful tool for assessing customer quality across various industries, including fintech and insurance. It can be used to predict credit risk and enhance actuarial machine learning models, making it a valuable asset for improving decision-making processes.

Profiling the Username

Each component of an email address offers unique profiling opportunities. The username portion can provide insights into user behavior and characteristics:

  • First Name Presence: Indicates whether the username includes a first name.
  • Last Name Presence: Shows if the username contains a last name.
  • Number Inclusion: Detects the presence of numbers in the username.
  • First Name Only: Identifies usernames with only a first name.
  • Levenshtein Distance from First Name: Measures the similarity between the username and a first name.
  • Levenshtein Distance from Last Name: Measures the similarity between the username and a last name.

These features can help score and identify potentially invalid email addresses but should be used in conjunction with other attributes in predictive models.

Profiling the Domain Name

Domain name profiling involves several key aspects:

  1. DNS Information:

    • MX Records: Verify email deliverability by checking MX records, which specify the mail servers responsible for receiving emails. If no MX records are present, the email cannot be delivered.
    • WHOIS Records: Confirm domain existence and ownership. If the domain does not exist, the email is undeliverable.

  2. Junk and Temporary Email Detection:

    • Disposable Email Addresses: Identify temporary mail services, such as Guerrilla Mail, which are often used by fraudsters and suggest a lack of commitment to long-term relationships.

  3. Email Provider Detection:

    • Free Email Providers: Includes services like Gmail or Hotmail.
    • Educational Institutions: Email addresses from educational domains.
    • Business Email Providers: Includes business-oriented services like G Suite or Outlook.
    • Generic Web Hosting Providers: Emails from generic web hosting services.
    • Self-Hosted Servers: Emails managed on private servers.

The type of email provider can indicate the level of commitment or legitimacy. Free email accounts are often less reliable than business or self-hosted email solutions, which can signal a higher investment in email management.

  1. Catch-All Email Addresses:
    • Positive Use: May indicate domain ownership by someone who lacks email management skills.
    • Negative Use: Often used by fraudsters to handle multiple domains quickly.

Practical Enhancements

  1. Automated Validation Tools:

    • Email Verification Services: Use third-party tools for real-time email validation, including syntax checks, domain validation, and MX record verification.
    • API Integration: Implement APIs for email validation in CRM or lead management systems to automate the profiling process.

  2. Behavioral Analysis:

    • Engagement Metrics: Monitor user interactions such as email opens, clicks, and responses. Low engagement can indicate a lack of genuine interest or use of temporary email addresses.
    • History of Email Usage: Analyze email history to identify patterns like frequent changes or disposable addresses.

  3. Custom Scoring Models:

    • Custom Weighting: Develop scoring models with different weights assigned to various profiling features based on their relevance to your industry.
    • Machine Learning Integration: Employ machine learning algorithms to refine email scoring models, adapting to evolving patterns and trends.

  4. Data Enrichment:

    • Supplementary Data Sources: Integrate additional data sources, such as social media profiles or business directories, to enhance email profiling.
    • Cross-Referencing: Use other databases to verify email addresses and gather more information about users.

  5. User Verification Steps:

    • Double Opt-In: Implement a double opt-in process requiring users to confirm their email address by responding to a verification email.
    • CAPTCHA and Email Validation: Use CAPTCHA challenges on sign-up forms to reduce fake or disposable email addresses.

  6. Privacy and Compliance Considerations:

    • Data Protection Regulations: Ensure email profiling practices comply with data protection regulations such as GDPR or CCPA, including proper consent and responsible data handling.
    • Transparent Practices: Clearly communicate how email profiling data is used and provide users with options to opt out if they wish.

Conclusion

By integrating these practical enhancements with username and domain name profiling techniques, you can significantly improve the accuracy and efficiency of customer quality assessments. This comprehensive approach will help reduce risks associated with invalid or fraudulent email addresses, enhancing overall decision-making in industries like fintech and insurance.